16
Grilling Perfect Seafood
Grilling adds a light, smoky flavor
to seafood and, like sautéing, also
sears food - giving it a crisp,
savory outer crust. Whole fish,
firm-fleshed steaks, shrimp and
scallops do well on the grill. Mol-
lusks such as oysters, clams and
mussels are sometimes grilled in the
shell and, although grilling causes
the shell to open, it does little to
actually enhance the flavor.
• Set RED
®
to
SEAR.
• To keep sh from sticking to the grill, make sure the cooking grate is
clean and very hot before you start to grill. Rub it quickly with a paper
towel dipped in a little high heat cooking oil before you put the seafood
on the grill. A grill pan gives seafood a light smoked avor and cooks it
with virtually no fat.
• Whole sh such as snapper, pompano and sea bass must be handled
carefully so they don’t stick and fall apart. Firm sh steaks such as tuna,
swordsh and shark are particularly good on the grill because they hold
together well and don’t stick.
• Grilled shrimp are tastiest when the shell is left on. Lightly sprinkle the
shrimp with salt. Grill them about 5 minutes until the shells turn pink.
Serve hot off the grill.
Grilling with a Plank
• Before you begin cooking with a plank it must be soaked. This helps
to keep food moist while cook-
ing, creates a more even cooking
rate, and lends more of the avor
characteristic of the wood you have
selected. Soaking a plank prior to
cooking also reduces its burn rate
and prolongs the life of the plank.
Be sure to soak the plank prior to
each cooking session, even if the
plank has been used before.
• Many liquids such as, fruit
juices, vinegar, wine and other al-
cohols can also be used although
water is the most commonly used